Web Accessibility

Accessing information online should be easy and intuitive, but that’s only true if digital content is designed with everyone in mind.  Users with visual, hearing, motor, or cognitive disabilities often face barriers unless specific accessibility considerations are built into websites.  Fortunately, many of these adaptations are straightforward to implement and do not compromise a site’s visual design or functionality.  Here are some best practices that help create an inclusive experience for everyone, regardless of the platform your site is built on.

Hyperlink Phrases Rather Than Single Words

Do not use “here” or “click here.” Phrases are easier to spot, but should be descriptive. Descriptive phrases are crucial to meeting accessibility guidelines. For those using screen readers, hearing “link click here” is frustrating at best.

Make Images Accessible

To optimize accessibility, usability, and design, use text-free graphics and photos only.

• Images on the page: All of your images must have “alt text” that is brief, descriptive, and can serve as a reasonable alternative to the image; this gives screen readers and those unable to load images something to work with. Watch out for redundancy in your alt text and leave out phrases such as “Image of” or similar extraneous content in your alt text.
• Image file names: Giving your images meaningful file names can add additional context. It’s also great for search engines and general file maintenance. Try something like crim-dell-bridge.jpg instead of IMG0123.jpg.

Make Documents Accessible

Your informational content should be created as webpages and not uploaded as PDFs or other file types. Webpages are more accessible for those using assistive technology and easier for your visitors to view across their devices.

Content that must be presented as a document is only considered accessible if it meets certain technical criteria and can be used by people with disabilities. Therefore, it’s essential to ensure your documents are accessible before uploading them.

Use Proper Heading Structure

When encountering a lengthy web page, sighted users often scroll the page quickly and look for headings to get an idea of the structure and content of the page.  Screenreader and other assistive technology users can also navigate webpages by heading structure, assuming true headings are used (as opposed to text that is simply big and bold). Do not use bold text to give the visual appearance of headings — the page’s title serves as the Heading 1 of the page, and Heading 2 and Heading 3 are available for use in the content area of your page. WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind) lists all the reasons semantic structure is important.

Add Captions to Videos

Embedded YouTube videos must have captions. You can use YouTube’s auto-generate function, but you must manually edit them as they are generated as a large block ot text with no punctuation or sentence breaks. You can also enlist the help of a captioning service to caption your videos for you.